khmer and Chinese life and death

Here is an example of how the Pol Pot government stole slogans from Mao Zedong without ever giving him credit. Mao used the concept of death to honor a fallen comrade in the military:

“All men must die, but death can vary in its significance. The ancient Chinese writer Szuma Chien said, "Though death befalls all men alike, it may be weightier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather." To die for the people is weightier than Mount Tai, but to work for the fascists and die for the exploiters and oppressors is lighter than a feather. Comrade Chang Szu-teh died for the people, and his death is indeed weightier than Mount Tai.”[1]

Compare that with this slogan of the Ankar Padevoat, the organization developed by Pol Pot and his comrads:

“Dying for the sake of the people has even more weight than Sacred Mount Himalaya; dying for the capitalists, feudalists, and reactionaries does not weigh more than a goose’s feather.” [2]

[1] Mao Tsetung, Selected Works of Mao Tsetung, Serve The People, 8 September, 1944, http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-3/mswv3_19.htm.
[2]Henri Locard, Pol Pot's Little Red Book, (Silkworm Books)2004, p. 166.